Life rarely provides second chances.
Yet, that is what happened in The Godfather III, the (hopefully) final film of The Godfather saga. Released 30 years ago, the film features a potential redemption story for Michael Corleone. When we saw Michael at the end of Part II, he was alone, in silhouette, sitting in thoughtful repose. Everything he had done, he had done for his family… And it cost him that very thing. He had “won”, but lost his soul. A fine ending. And then…
In The Godfather III, we saw Michael, older and wiser, as he works to remove himself and his (mostly distant) family from “The Business” by becoming the majority owner of a multinational conglomerate that was a key business interest of the Vatican. Legitimacy, plus the blessing of the Pope, was within his grasp.
Alas, it was not to be, and while I will not belabor the complicated plot, the movie ended with Michael even more isolated, and the final shot is his death scene, as he dies near the very spot in Sicily where he lost his beloved Apollonia in the first film.
No second chances for Michael, but fate had other things in store for Francis Ford Coppola.
When The Godfather III came out, the critical reception was mixed, and box office results were lower than hoped for. It wasn’t that The Godfather III was a bad film, it was that it’s confusing plot was off-putting and the film paled in comparison with the first two films.
Now, three decades later, Coppola has “fixed” the film.
Early December, Paramount released The Godfather: Coda, “The Death of Michael Corleone.” This “new vision” of the third film trims some scenes, excises the original ending altogether, and clarifies the plot by putting a pivotal scene in the very beginning of the movie. It even changes the ending.
It works.
Even though the film is only four minutes shorter than the original running time, it FEELS much shorter. While there are some inherent things that the new cut could not fix (like Sofia Coppola’s performance, or the icky “cousin” love story she is a part of), the film is markedly better than I expected it to be.
This site details the major changes, so I will not repeat them here. However, I wish to discuss what (to me) was the biggest change. The ending scene.
SPOILERS
In the original ending, as noted, Michael dies. In Coda… He doesn’t. We still see Michael alone, in that chair, but before he slumps over we cut from the scene and we see the following words on the screen:
When the Sicilians wish you “Cent’anni”… it means “for long life.”
…and a Sicilian never forgets.
Which I think is SO MUCH BETTER. It bookends the end of Part II perfectly. In Coda, he has not only lost his chance at redemption, he’s STILL ALIVE. Alone, in pain, a living hell. The subtitle should have been “The ‘Death’ of Michael Corleone.” Because he has the ‘blessing’ of a long life. A life where he can NEVER forget.
I also love the ambiguity of the ending. Michael Corleone has “died” just like Vincent Mancini “died” and became Vincent Corleone when Michael handed over the reins to the family business in the third act. No longer Don Corleone, Michael is… Just another old man, feeding dogs in Sicily.
So, enough spoilers for a30 year old film. But WOW, the new “ending” makes it so much better for me. Your mileage may vary, but I highly recommend you watch Coppola’s new edit. It makes a good movie… Almost a great one
And one last thought: If Michael is “alive: at the end of Coda, this may mean… Well, we may get another Godfather movie now. I shudder to think of it, but Hollywood LOVES to reuse their intellectual property. There was a rumored Godfather IV project that was floating around for several years, and if Coda does well… It might happen.
“It’s nothing personal. Strictly business.”